Circular-knitting machine



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G. H. GILBERT; CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE.

No. 351,590. Batented Oct. 26, 1886.

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Patented Oct. 26, 1886.

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CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE.

No. 351.590. Patented Oct. 26, 1886.

' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE;-

GEORGE H. GILBERT, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

CIRCULAR-KNITTING MACHINE.

' SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 351,590, dated October 26,, I886.

Application filed December 30, 1885. Serial No. 187,134. lNo model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE H. GILBERT, a citizen of the United States, residing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have invented certain Improvements in Circular-Knitting Machines,

. of which the following is a specification,

The object of my invention is to provide knitting-machines of the Branson or Franz and Pope type with an attachment whereby the picking of the needles, in the operation of narrowing and widening for the formation of a toe or heel pocket on a knitted tube, is effected automatically, and this object lattain in the manner which I will now proceed to describe, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a front view of a Branson knitting-machine provided with my attachment for automatically picking the needles; Fig. 2,

a plan view of the same with part of the mech anism forming the subject of my invention; Fig. 2, a detached perspective view of part of the machine; Fig. 3, an end view partly in section, looking in the direction of the arrow 1, Fig. 1, but omitting the driving gear of the machine and the needles; Fig. 4, a sectional plan on the line 1 2, Fig. 1, also omitting the driving-gear; Figs. 5 to 10, detached views illustrating different parts of the machine; Figs. 11 and 12, diagrams illustrating the operation of the machine, and Figs. 13 to 15 views showing modifications of parts of the invention.

. having a crank-pin, f, which is connected .by

a rod, f, to the crank-pin fof a disk, F, on a counter-shaft, F, at the back of the frame. (See Fig. 8.) The throw of thecrank-pin f in respect to that of the pin f is such that the rotation of the disk F will effect the vibration of the disk F, and a consequent'backward and forward movement of the pinion d, drivingshaft E, bevel-wheel a, and cam-cylinder D. In producing ordinary continuous tubular work on the machine, a continuous rotary movement of the cylinder D is required, and at such times the counter shaft F is disconnected from its driving mechanism, and the driving-shaft E is driven by a belt on the fast pulley b; but when it is desired to produce a bag or pocket on the knitted tube, the belt is shifted to the loose pulley b, and the shaft F is connected to its driving mechanism, soas to impart to the cam-cylinder D the movement of rotation, first in one direction and then in the opposite direction, which is necessary for the production of said pocket on the tube. The cam-cylinder D has cams so constructed that when the needles are lifted in the needlecylinder, as shown in Fig.1, their bits 1 will be free from the control of the cam, but when the needles are depressed, as in Fig. 1, said bits will be under control of the cam, and. the needles will be operated thereby as the cam-cylinder is rotated. This construction is common in the class of machines to which my invention relates. (See, for instance, the machine shown in the patent of Branson, No. 214,989, May 6, 1879.)

-lt is the usual practice in machines of this class to elevate or depress the needles by hand in narrowing and widening to form a bag or pocket at the side of a knitted tube. Thus, in commencing the operation,a number of needles,

say one-half, on the right-hand side of the head are lifted so that their bits 1 are free from the control of the cam, leaving the other half on the left-hand side of the head down, so as to remain under the control of the cam, After each reciprocation of the cam-cylinder and the formation of each course of stitches, the outside needle of the acting set,first at oneend and then at the opposite end of the set, is lifted so as to be thrown out of action, this operation continuing until the number of needles remaining in action is reduced to the proper extent and the desired narrowing of the fab riceffected, a needle at each end of the set alternately being then thrown into action on each reciprocation of the. cam-cylinder until all the needles around the half of the head are again in action, whereupon the needles on the other half of the head are depressed and thrown into action, and the knitting of continuous tubular fabric proceeded with, as before.

Usually the lifting and depressing of the needles at alternate ends of the acting set, or as it is usually termed the picking of the needles, is effected by hand, the operator being providedwith a suitable hook for the purpose, and the operation consequently requires a considerable degree of skill and necessitates a coarse gage in the machine. I therefore effect the picking of the needles by an automatic device, the construction of which I will now proceed to describe.

Such of the needles as are to be picked have long stems projecting down below the needlecylinder and cam-cylinder, and provided at the lower ends with bits 2, and mounted in suitable bearings, 71 on the under side of the frame A, are a pair of annular racks, G G, one above the other. Mounted upon the up per rack, G, is a frame, H, in which is guided a rod, I, having its lower end bentinward and upward and provided with two projecting lugs, it, for acting on the bits 2 of the needles, as described hereinafter. This rod Iis held in equilibrium by coiled springsm m,confined between bearings n on the frame H, and washers bearing against a central pin, 1), 011 the rod, the upper end of said rod being provided with a double cam, J. A similar cam, J, is secured to a rod, 1, which is guided in a frame, H, carried by the lower annular rack, G, said rod 1 being supported in the frame H by springs m, confined between bearings n on the frame and washers bearing against the central pin, 1), on the rod, in the same manner as the red I is supported in the frame H.

To projecting brackets K on the cam-ring D are hung levers M, from which project pins 70, adapted to act upon either the under side or the upper side of the cams JJ as the cylinder D is reciprocated. Thus,if the lever is adj usted to the position shown by full lines in Fig.

'6, the pin will act upon the under side of the cam and will lift the same andthe rodto which it is secured; but if the lever is adjusted to the position as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 6 the pin will act upon the upper side of the cam, and will depress the same and the rod carrying it, said rod being restored to its normal position or position of rest by the action of springs m assoou as the cam is released from the control of the pin. As the cam-cylinder is reciprocated, therefore, the rods I I will be either elevated or depressed from their normal position, the character of the movement depending upon whether the levers M have been adjusted to the position shown by full lines in Fig. (3 or to that shown by dotted lines in said figure. A stop-pin, c, projecting from the back of each lever serves to arrest it when it has reached either of its proper positions. The brackets K have slots K, to which are adapted the stems of the set-screws K,whereby said brackets are secured to the lugs K on the cylinder, so that said brackets can be moved inward to such an extent that the pins of the levers M will clear the cams J J as the cylinder is rotated. When the needles are down,

as shown at the left-hand side of Fig. 1, the bits 2, at the lower ends of the needle-stems, are just above the lower lugs, t, of the rods I l, the distance between said lower lugs and the upper lugs, i, being equal to or slightlygreater than the extent of lift which must be imparted to the needle in order to throw it out of action. As each rod I I is elevated, therefore, its lower lug, i, will strike the bit2 ofthe needle in line therewith and lift said needle to an inoperative position, the bit being then just underneath the upper lug, i, when the rod drops back to its position of rest, and on forcing the rod downward from this position the upper lug, i, will strike the bit of the needle and depress the same into operative position again.

I11 order to provide for the automatic operation of the annular racks G G, so as to cause the needles to be lifted in succession, commencing at the ends of the set, and then depressed in succession from the inner portion of the set toward the ends after the proper amount of narrowing has been effected, I impart movement in opposite directions to said racks by means of pawls s s 8", carried by a rod, t, guided in hearings in a lever. N, hung to a stud on the under side of the frame A, said lever having a segment, a, with which engages a spur-wheel, u, on a short shaft, I, turning in a bearing in the frame A, and having at the upper end an arm, a, connected by a rod, 1), to a lever, P, hung to a stud on the frame.

Resting on the frame A is a plate, S, in which is a segmental slot, 20, for the reception of bolts 10, and a filling-piece, 10 the slot to being of such a length that a certain movement of the plate S on the frame A is permitted. On the inner side of the plate is a projecting pin, 00, and on the outer side of the plate are two pins, .70, between which projects one arm of the lever P, and to the needle-cylinder is secured a projecting lug, T, which, as said cylinderis reciprocated, strikes the inner pin, :0, of the plate S, first on one side and then on the opposite side, and thus imparts movement first in one direction and then in the opposite direction to the plate S, thereby causing an intermittent vibration of the lever P, and a like movement of the lever N, so as to cause a movement of the racks G G, by reason of the engagement therewith of the pawls carried by said lever. The lug T is secured to the upright stem T, of the threadguide, and the vertical shank T of said lug, has slots T ,for the reception of the stems of the confining-screws T, as shown in Fig. 2", so that said lug can be adjusted vertically in order to clear the pins 00 no of the plate S, as the cylinder is rotated. It being understood that the pawls which are in engagement with the racks face in opposite directions, it will be seen that on a movement of the lever N in one direction there will be a corresponding movement of one rack, the other remaining stationary, and on the reverse movement of the lever N the other rack will be moved thereby, the

and the rod t, carrying the pawls, is adjustajble by means of a cam-lever, 7U, having a slot,

U, for the reception of a pin, U on the rod, as shown in Figs. 3 and 9, so that the central pawl, 8, may be caused to engage with the upper rack, G, and the lower pawl, s, with the lower rack, G, the upper pawl, 8", being out of gear, or the rod t may be depressed, so as to throw the lower pawl, 8, out of gear, and cause the central pawl to engage with the lower rack and the upper pawl with the upper rack. By this means the direction of movement ,of the racks can be readily reversed.

The operation of the machine is as follows;

Supposing that thedriving-belthas been shifted onto the loose pulley b, so as to stop the ma chine after the production of a suitable length of tubular fabric, the machine is set for performing the narrowing and widening operation by lifting one half of the needles of the head and allowing the other half to remain down, so that their bits will engage with the camas, for instance, in .Fig. 11-in which the open circles represent the raised needles and the black dots the needles which remain depressed.

The racks G G are in such a position that the rods I I are j ust outside of the projecting stems of the end needles of the depressed set, and the levers M are so adjusted that the pins k of the same tend to elevate the cams J J. The shaft F having been thrown into gear,a reciprocating movement is imparted to the cam-cylinder D, and as soon as the cylinder. has made one reciprocation and the lug T has struck the pin a: of the plate S and moved the latter and the pawl-carrying lever N, there will be a movement of one of the raekssay the rack G- sufficient to cause the rod I carried thereby to be brought into line with the end needle, 3, and on the reverse reciprocation this rod will be raised by the action of the pin it on the under side of the cam J, and said end needle likewiseelevated and thrown out of actidn. When the cylinder reaches the limit of its movement in the reverse direction, the plate S will be moved backward, and there will consequently be an operation of the other rack, G, and a movement of the rod 1 carried thereby, into line with the needle 4 at the opposite end of the set, which will be lifted and thrown out of action when said rod iselcvated on the return movement of thecylinder. Both rods I I will be lifted twice on each reciprocation of the cam-cylinder, but only one movement of one rod is effective on each reciprocation, this movement being the one imparted to the rod immediately after it has been brought into line with the needle. The operation of moving the racks and causing'the rods I I to approach each other and lift the needles at alternate ends of the set, goes on until the required number of needles have been lifted and thrown out of action, as shown in Fig. 12, whereupon the levers M are reversed, so

that their pins It will have the effect of de-' pressing the cams J J, and the rod t is moved so as to shift the pawls carried thereby. The vibration of the lever N now efi'ects movements of the racks G G in directions the reverse of their former movements, and consequently the rods I I are gradually moved away from each other, so. that one needle after another, first at one end of the. acting set and then at the opposite end of the same, is pulled down and throwninto action, this operation continuing until all of the needles around the half of the head have been depressed and the rods I 1 moved so as to clear the end needles of the set, whereupon the shaft F is thrown out of action, the lug T raised so as to clear the pin a: of the plate 8, and the bearings of the levers M moved inward so that their pins will clear the cams J J, the needles on the other half of the head being then depressed and the belt shifted onto the fast pulley b, so as to again proceed with the knitting of continuous tubular fabric. If desired, the cams J J may be carried by the lugs K of the needle-cylinder D,and may act upon the pins kat the upper ends of the rods I l, as shown in Fig. 13, for instance, said cams having plates K with slots K, for the reception of the confining-screws K in the same manner as the plates K, carrying the levers M, (shown in Fig. 2,) the pin k being carried bya sleeve, k, adjustable on the rods I or I, and secured in position after adjustment by means ofa setscrew, is", as shown in said Fig. 13, so thatthe pin may be brought underthe influence of either the upper or lower face of the cam, or

may be freed from the control of said cam. In

tion in which the lug T acts directly upon a pin of the crank o, andthe needles may have at the lower ends two bits properly spaced, as shown in Fig. 15, and adapted for being acted uponby a single lug on the rodI or I,instead of the reverse arrangement previously described. p

I claim as my invent-ion- 1. The combination of the cam-cylinder of the machine, the needle-cylinder having needles movable into or out of the range of the cam, picking-rods acting on the needles, racks carrying said rods, a pawl-carrier having pawls engaging the racks, and mechanism, substantially as described, for operating the cam cylinder and pawl carrier, and for reciprocating the picking-rods, all substantially as specified. I v

2. The combination of the cam-cylinder, the needle-cylinder and its movable needles, picking-rods having lugs for elevating and depressing the needles, racks carrying said picking-rods, springs whereby the rods are held normally in one position and are restored to this position after being elevated or depressed therefrom, and mechanism, substantially as described, for operating said cam-cylinder, racks, and rods, all substantially as specified.

3. The combination of the cam -eylinder, the needle-cylinder having movable needles, the picking rods, racks carrying the same, springs for holding the rods in normal position, cams and projections engaging with each other to effect the elevation or depression of a rod on eaelfreciprocation of the cam-cylinder,and mechanism, substantially as described, for operating the cam-cylinder and racks, all substantially as specified.

4. The combination of the cam-cylinder, the needle-cylinder having movable needles, the pickingrods and their supporting-springs, racks carrying said rods, double cams carried by the rods, levers carried by the cam-eylinder and having pins for acting upon the cams, means, as set forth, for adjusting said levers, and mechanism, substantially as described, for operating the cam-cylinder and racks, all substantially as specified.

5. The combination of the cam-cylinder, the needle-cylinder having movable needles, picking-rods, racks carrying the'same, the

pawl-carrier and itspawls, mechanism, sub-- stantially as described, for operating the cameylinder, picking-rods, and pawlcarrier, and means, substantially as set forth, whereby the pawls are adjusted on said carrier in order to effect a reversal of the direction of movement of the racks, all substantially as specified.

6. The combination of the camcylinder, the needle-cylinder and its movable needles, pickingrods, racks carrying the same, mechanism, substantially as described, for operating the cam-cylinder and rods, a pawl-carrier having pawls engaging with the racks, a lug on the cam-cylinder, and dcvices,snbstantiall y as set forth, whereby said lag is caused to act upon and move the pawl-carrier as the camcylinder reaches the limit of its movement in either direction, all substantially as specified.

7. The combination of thecam -cylinder, the needle-cylinder and its movable needles, picking-rods, racks carrying the same, a pawlearrier having pawls engaging with said racks, a plate, S, a projection on the needle-cylinder for striking and moving said plate at each extremity of movement of the cylinder, means, substantially as specified, whereby the movement of the plate is transmitted to the pawlcarrier, and mechanism, substantially as set forth, for operating the cam cylinder and picking-rods, all substantially as specified.

S. The combination of the cam cylinder, the needle cylinder having movable needles with bitted stems projecting below the cylinder, picking-rods for acting on the bits, racks carrying the rods, a pawl-carrier having pawls engaging with said racks, and mechanism, substantially as set forth, for operating the cam-cylinder, picking-rods, and pawl-carrier, all substantially as specified.

9. The within-described needle-picking attachment for knitting-machines, said attachment consisting of a frame carrying two racks, each provided with a spring-supported picking-rod, a pawl-carrier having pawls engaging with the racks, and cams and pins, by the engagement of which the picking-rods can be raised or lowered from their normal position, all substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof Ihave signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

GEO. H. GILBERT.

Witnesses:

WILLIAM F. DAVIS, HARRY SMITH. 

